it's snowing already. we are under a winter storm watch. and yes, i am obsessed with the weather. these few darkest weeks of winter really are difficult. that might sound overly dramatic to those who love winter, or who do not live in minnesota, or have completely stable emotions. the darkness and the cold really do get to me. they trick me. i start functioning in survival mode. i start to think i am a terrible person. i don't mean to be a downer, just honest. i realize this is my third weather-related post in a row, but that is actually what is going on in my life. i have not decorated for christmas. i have not yet made all the presents i want to make. but that is okay. in a few days i will be home with family and we will have christmas and it will be lovely.
also, i have made a wonderful discovery of late. or rather, a friend shared her wonderful discovery with me: the big book of soft toys by mabs (!!) tyler. published in 1973, this woman is the great aunt of the likes of joelle hoverson and amy butler. the pictures are amazing, the colors so vivid. i managed to find my own copy online, and it is en route to my house! here are a few of my favorite pages:

no, i mean WINTER.

weather.com says "right now for minneapolis, -5 (feels like -24)".
feels like -24?!
we are having a wind-chill advisory.
seriously.
the positive thing is that tomorrow's +6 degrees will feel balmy.

winter

you know when you are going through something that is not fun, and there are little glimpses of hope along the way? i have been feeling a little discouraged lately, life has been a little overwhelming. but in the midst of that, there have been really wonderful moments: friends emailing to check on me, out-of-town guests encouraging me, and a quiet walk through the snow to help me sort out my thoughts a little. i forgot about how bright winter nights actually are, and was delighted to be stopped in my journey to watch a train pass up close. i am reconciled, for now, with this season.

two new reasons to be happy:

1. kellogg's saves mother's circus cookies!
2. target teams up with loomstate to bring us a line of social/eco-conscious clothing!
it hardly seems like life could get better.

crafty weekend.

i have decided it is time i learn to knit. also, i was totally taken with pretty much everything in this shop (which i would gladly buy if i had the money!). i realize that those things are probably crocheted, and i fully intend to tackle that next. however, after getting home from no coast last night, amy taught me to cast on, knit, and purl. and i love it. it is exactly the challenge i need that i didn't know i was looking for. here is what it looks like so far (which is infinitely better than my first attempt many years ago when i made a very loopy shawl for my samantha doll):

so, because i am me, my thanksgiving photos are not actually of people, but of The Midwest. i am not sure anyone gets the same kick out of dirt piles and barren fields that i do. but ever since i got my digital camera, i have rediscovered how much i love taking pictures--and discovering how easy it is to do with a digital camera! i was so anti-digital for so long, but being able to take pictures and look a them right away, and share them like this is so easy! i wish i had done it before (i realize everyone else probably already knew all this, but i can't help but share).


i did manage to take a couple of pictures of my favorite child. it's okay to have favorite children, right? even if it's not, i can't help it. i am so taken with the tiny redhead who asks, 'um, lowa bwown. . . do you have a walwus?' (we played a lot of animal-themed go fish this weekend). here she is with her pre-thanksgiving feast olive fingers, and then making paper chains with her cousin (who is also an entirely delightful child. they all are, really). the pigtails kill me.


it was a great, relaxing weekend of great food and wonderful people. i feel totally refreshed because of it.